2nd July 2024

Review: “Black Water” by Buried Souls

Recorded, mixed and mastered by the band themselves in Lausanne, Switzerland “Black Water” continues the evolution of Death Metal infused Hardcore Sludge merchants Buried Souls just eight months after they last cursed our ear drums with EP “Zone 63“. Caustic and abrasive, that last record set the scene for a future in which the world became an apocalyptic wasteland, leaving us in little doubt that the bands early Southern Metal swagger had been completely removed. It’s a dark new day and the hadron collider is hard at work underground…

Ominous instrumental introduction piece “Into the Depths” offers a drone like mesmerising quality as it begins the descent into madness, the tribal drum pattern exposing a hint at a Post-Metal influence before fuel is thrown on the fire with the brutal title track “Black Water“. Like a sucker punch, it has an impact that nothing can prepare you for with wave after wave of Blackened Sludge and caustic vocals drawing a comparison to bands like Nails. Restless and relentless drumming beats the brain cells out of your skull one at a time during the feral opening verse, a Groove Death bridge offering some respite before the growled vocals become shriller once more. Curiously that savagery fades to the Hundred Year Old Man like sounds offered up by the introduction piece in the final third, making you wonder why the two were separated at birth. The bone snapping “Desperate Struggle” instantly brings “Chaos A.D.” era Sepultura to mind with its guitar sound and slaughter house riffs in the opening foray but vocally it’s a whole other level of pain. Transcending Death Metal, Buried Souls switch into more of a Blackened Hardcore orientation by the half way point but the bark and bite of the vocals remains vicious, as if a wasp stung a Pit Bull on the nose and the dog is venting its spleen. Variety is the spice of life but not even a mystic saw the bass heavy Groove Metal style riffs of “Freak Out” on the horizon but damn, they make for one of the finest moments on the record. It’s like Entombed decided to play some Pantera covers at a local bar for s***s and giggles and Buried Souls pull it off with verve and swagger. Scraping the resin from the dungeon floor with its ominous brooding “Eternal Drift” exposes black thoughts with Noise Metal sections between passages of Blackened blast beats that churn with unsettling spirit. An abrasion of an altogether different variety this one leaves a scar… [8/10]